Election of 2021-2022 Officers for WAS-H Board of Directors

April 06, 2021 1:13 PM | Deleted user

We are happy to present volunteers slated to become WAS-H Board of Directors for the year 2021-2022. Click here to vote for them online!

PHILIP WEIGAND

Philip has been around watercolor for all of his life. His dad was an architect and he has fond memories of him working on his watercolor renderings at his drafting table, painting in his sketchbook, and working alongside him in his art studio. So for Philip, watercolor provides a lot of wonderful memories of family, travels, and seeking new adventures. One of his favorite things is sharing watercolor with his kids - they keep it exciting!

Professionally he’s been in the Oil & Gas Industry for over 10 years and found that watercolor is a great way to tap into a creative outlet and gain fresh perspectives. “I’m inspired by Peter Spier’s pen and wash techniques, Ratindra Das’ bold shapes and colors, and the brushwork of Eudes Correia and Joseph Zbukvic. Texas landscapes, seascapes, and European architecture are all themes I really enjoy painting.”

AHLENE SHONG

Ahlene was born near Manchester, England, then immigrated to Ohio, USA. She earned a BS in Geology from Cleveland State University and an MS in Earth Science at Case Western Reserve University. She is still married to her high school sweetheart, with their 48th anniversary coming up this year.

She moved to Houston in 1978 and worked as an exploration geologist for nine years. Ahlene taught elementary math and science for 21 years and has been retired for about eight years now. 

Ahlene never took any art classes, but always appreciated art, particularly watercolor paintings. She’s been a member of WAS-H for several years, has taken several workshops and volunteers on the “take-in” days for the gallery exhibits. She also enjoyed participating in the WAS-H outreach program at Texas Children’s Hospital, which was discontinued last year due to the pandemic.

“I think WAS-H is a wonderful organization; I have felt so welcome amongst the members. I would be glad to serve on the board this year, for I feel like I need to “do my part” to share the load to keep WAS-H running at peek capacity, always growing, always evolving. Thank you for your support for me and each other.”

DONNA SCHULTZ VAN FLEET

During a 31-year management career with IBM Corporation, Donna was named by Business Week magazine as one of the "Top 100 Women in Computing." Since retiring, Donna has served as a member of the boards of a number of nonprofit organizations and was featured in the Austin American-Statesman as one of 12 "movers and shakers" who make things happen in Austin. Donna's eagerness to experience diverse cultures has taken her on extensive worldwide excursions, and a fortuitous meeting of Jan Shrader on a trip through the Far East introduced Donna to WAS-H.

Since the pandemic, home-alone isolation in her Galveston Gulf-side idyll has afforded Donna opportunity to indulge her lifelong passion for art. Having dabbled with only acrylic painting on limited occasions, Donna was a neophyte to watercolor painting, and now WAS-H's virtual classes have become a weekly staple.

"With leadership experience in a vast array of nonprofit enterprises and boundless zeal for art, I consider it a gift to serve WAS-H as co-vice president.”

IRENE SHEYTMAN

Irene’s romance with watercolor started when she studied architecture in college at the Azerbaijan Engineering and Construction University in Baku. Among other subjects, watercolor painting was a prerequisite for architectural rendering.

Like many of us, life forced her to set painting aside. But when she finally had more free time on her hands, she started painting again. She realized the need to develop her own visual language to express thoughts and emotions, painting light and darkness, depicting the mood of a scene, or creating order from chaos. Irene loves to travel and to see new places, cities, and countries. That is part of why historical architecture is her passion, visiting little forgotten villages, climbing up walls of medieval citadels, and scrutinizing paintings or mosaics on cathedral ceilings.

“I have been a member of WAS-H for many years and enjoyed plenty of workshops and classes. But most of all, I appreciate simply being a part of a great group of art enthusiasts and appreciators.”

ADELE RABER

Adele Raber is a retired pediatrician from Canada. She and her husband raised their family and practiced in Houston since 1978. In normal times Adele splits her year between London and Houston so she may not be a familiar face to all WAS-H members, but when she joins the WAS-H board of directors she will definitely become one.

Watercolor cast its spell on Adele many years ago in a tiny neighborhood frame house where Polly Hammet was the instructor. Since then Adele has taken many workshops and classes, quit, tried again, quit, bought too many art supplies to really quit and so continued on. Adele took a monoprint course and the core course at Glassel , "An Introduction to Bauhaus" course in London, and 2 puppet making classes.

“I still love chasing impish watercolors that behave so much like naughty kids.”

KATHLEEN COOPER

Kathleen grew up in Schenectady, NY , moved to Daytona Beach, Florida where her engineer father had been transferred to work on a contract with NASA. Kathleen attended the University of Florida for college and Law School, then moved to Houston.

She worked for 22 years at Marathon Oil Company as Senior Tax Counsel, International. At the end of 2009 she retired for the first time, and joined WAS-H.

In 2012 she returned to work in a job with the IRS as a Revenue Agent examining the foreign transactions of large corporations, and after 7 years there, retired in 2019. “Alas, my retirement plans have been stymied by Covid 19, but hopefully we will soon be able to paint together once again!”

Comments

  • April 07, 2021 6:11 AM | Sudha Bidani
    sounds like very educated and professional administrators. It would be a pleasure to meet them sometime in a class or otherwise.
    Link  •  Reply
  • April 16, 2021 3:47 PM | Jan McNeill
    What a wonderful slate of officers! Thanks to all of you for providing leadership to WAS-H!!
    Past President, Historian, & Paintin Coordinator
    Link  •  Reply
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